If you are close to the age of 40, chances are you have heard whisperings of the dreaded "B" word. I will come right out and say it, BIFOCAL, there, it's out in the open and we can now move on. Once we hit the age of 40, our internal lenses become more rigid and it's more difficult for the internal eye muscles to stretch the lens which in turn helps us focus up close. This condition is known as presbyopia.

While wearing contact lenses you will eventually have to use reading/magnifying glasses to do near tasks.Or.....wait for it, you can opt to wear multifocal contact lenses. You're probably saying to yourself right at this moment "is that something new?", my response would be "yes and no". Multifocal and bifocal contact lenses have been around for a while, but the technology is getting better every year.

The Difference: Bifocal and multifocal contact lenses are two different animals but end up doing basically the same thing. A bifocal lens means there are two different powers in the lens, one for distance and one for close. A multifocal lens means there are many different powers, distance, intermediate and near (with a whole lot in between). All "bifocal" soft contact lenses are in truth, multifocals. Gas-permeable contact lenses can be either bifocal or multifocal.

Pros: A true bifocal lens will provide good distance and good near vision. A multifocal will provide good distance and intermediate. A multifocal will have no image "jump" between near and far and give you a truer vision, just like when we were younger.

Cons: A bifocal lens lacks intermediate vision (like at the computer). A multifocal lens can sometimes be not quite as clear up close (depending on your bifocal add).


This is how most multifocal soft lenses work: